“Naturally, I guess the target for every driver is to work towards being the benchmark,” he concedes from the boardroom at Mercedes’ base in Brackley, Northamptonshire. “I don’t talk about status. You want to progress, as everyone wants to in life. You obviously want to feel your worth.
We are not in a discussion where I’m saying, ‘I’ve won the championship, now I want this’. You can ask Toto. It’s a progression as the team progresses.” Despite his initial enthusiasm for taking charge of matters himself, against the counsel of many of those close to him, Hamilton seems wearied by the process.
Lewis Hamilton wins his second drivers’ championship (Getty Images)
“Have I enjoyed it? I’m not too sure I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been an experience. I’m glad I’ve done it. If I’d gone through my whole career and not done something like this then I would have always been wondering if I could or not. But it’s been a very nerve-racking experience.” Although a deal is unlikely to be completed before the season-opener in Melbourne on March 15, the chances of a rival like Ferrari swooping in appear slim. In our conversation Hamilton was wary of committing himself to Mercedes indefinitely, but for the “foreseeable future” he sees himself with the team.
However, for the foreseeable future he will also have to be without Nicole Scherzinger, his pop star girlfriend of nearly eight years who was there to join in the celebrations in Abu Dhabi last November. Such matters may seem trivial in the business of Formula One, but not in Hamilton’s case.
An avowed ‘heart on the sleeve’ character, Hamilton dedicated his win in Budapest two years ago to Scherzinger after their last split.
With his private life in chaos in 2011, not long after the split from his father, he endured his annus horribilis. It was not just his Ali G ‘maybe it’s because I’m black’’ moment in Monaco, it was being thoroughly outperformed by team-mate Jenson Button in a crash-prone year.
In a 2014 season which saw him win 11 races, producing the finest form of his career, Hamilton often spoke of having everything in his racing and private life in perfect order, free of the turbulence which could force him off course. With this serenity no more, perhaps there is hope for Rosberg and the rest after all.
After referring on social media to how “tough” recent weeks have been, Hamilton explains: “You know what, I think last year I adopted a mental attitude that I would like to say is impenetrable. Of course, in previous years it’s been the case where it’s affected my life in general, but I feel that I can still carry that kind of mentality from last year. While it’s not been easy, and having been in this position before, I feel stronger than ever. Like I said, it’s once in a blue moon that all the stars are aligned but I still feel like I’ve got enough in place to do what I need to do and to be the best I can be.” Last season felt like a coming of age year for Hamilton, bouncing back from misfortune better than he has ever done before. But truly separating the racing from the private will represent the final stage in his maturation.
At testing: Lewis Hamilton at Jerez in 2015 (Action Images)
Of course, it helps when your car is patently the class of field. While he is coy about pre-season, Hamilton admits it was “pretty awesome”. A racer at heart, you can almost feel the two-time champion willing the competition on. “A year of dominance is a great thing for a team, but as a racing driver, I’m sure the fans want to see close competition. Personally, I would get bored [if I was watching as a fan].” A third title – whether it is closely fought or won at a canter – would put him on a par with Senna and part of an exclusive nine-strong club of triple champions. His star has never shone brighter.
“Jay-Z rapped about Michael Schumacher, so I’ve still got some work to do,” he jokes. Hamilton is all smiles now, but there is enough uncertainty to make the path to the final stage of superstardom a rocky one